I've received three replies so far. One was basically "thanks for the input," a second was "I'll keep this in mind when I fill out my next ballot, but no promises" but the third was fairly detailed, and here's what he said:
"Thanks for the note and good, fair question.
Rankings are about more than just the record. That's the short answer. The longer answer...
NC State and Clemson were ahead of Wake in advanced metrics. In ESPN's SP+, Clemson was 8 (seems quite high to me, but whatever), NC State is 13 and Wake is 39th, for example. Sagarin (another analytical thing I check) now has Clemson at 8, State at 17 and Wake at 21. It's similar with ESPN's FPI. You get the point.
I viewed those 3 ACC teams as kind of a jumble. Wake beat NC State which beat Clemson which beat Wake. At that point, it comes down to other things. Wake had some unimpressive wins over Army (56 points allowed!), Louisville and Syracuse, plus a 24-point loss to Pitt. State crushed Louisville and Syracuse, while Clemson was more competitive against Pitt.
You mention, correctly, the extra Wake win. But consider the schedule. Clemson had a one-score loss against a Georgia team playing in the national championship. That's more impressive than any Wake non-con win. NC State lost at a top-40 Mississippi State team. That's probably more impressive than beating Army 70-56.
So add that all up, and that's why I put them in that order.
Appreciated the guy detailing his thoughts even if I don't agree with it all, thought the perspective was interesting to share here.